CB Adam Jones rips ref on Instagram, then deletes post
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones lashed out on social media Saturday night after receiving a key penalty near the end of his team's 18-16 AFC wild-card loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Referring to referee John Parry, Jones said in a video posted on Instagram that "The ref did a horrible f---ing job" and questioned why Steelers assistant coach and former player Joey Porter was on the field in between plays late in the game.
Porter had come onto the field during a stoppage in play while Steelers officials were attending to receiver Antonio Brown. Porter presumably was checking on Brown, who had taken a hit to his head by the Bengals'Vontaze Burfict. Burfict was given a 15-yard penalty for the hit.
Jones then was called for unsportsmanlike conduct as he argued with Porter and other members of the Steelers. Parry, umpire Mark Pellis and field judge Buddy Horton were all in between Porter and Jones. At one point, Jones appeared to bump into Horton in an attempt to get closer to Porter. Horton threw the flag, giving the Steelers an additional 15 yards and setting up Chris Boswell's game-winning 35-yard field goal.
Jones deleted the Instagram post, but he later posted a second video in which he said: "All right, I'm good now. I've had my 10 minutes. I still don't believe I should have gotten a flag for talking to a coach that's on the field behind the huddle. That's my opinion."
Jones also took issue with the call on Burfict. He told NFL.com's Michael Silver of Brown, who is in the league's concussion protocol, "Man, that [expletive] was [expletive] acting. He flopped. He needs a [expletive] Academy Award for that performance."
Social media was the avenue for a postgame rant the last time these two teams met, too.
After the Steelers beat the Bengals in December, Jones put out a not-safe-for-work Instagram post, leading Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert to post on Twitter:"All I want for Christmas is the bengals. Would love to see them in the playoffs where they choke."
